Burned lawn: How to save your burnt lawn
Heat and dryness are a major strain on your lawn. When temperatures rise in summer and there is hardly any rain, the lawn in many gardens burns. It turns brown and, in the worst case, dies completely. Many hobby gardeners wonder how they can help their burnt lawn and whether it will turn green again.
In this article, we will summarize for you the possible causes of a burnt lawn and in which cases it can become lush and green again. At the same time, you will learn how to prevent brown patches in the future and what to consider when reseeding. We will also introduce you to the high-quality products from RasenExpert.
What are the causes of burnt lawns?
A burnt lawn can be caused by drought, improper watering or over-fertilization.
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Can burnt grass become beautiful again?
Yes, burnt grass can become beautiful again if its roots are still intact.
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Save burnt lawn: Water the lawn properly:
On a shady day, water your lawn with 15 to 20 L of water per m².
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Reseed dead areas in the lawn:
If the roots of your lawn have died, you should first scarify and then sow new seeds.
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What are the causes of burnt lawns?
If the grass in your garden is turning brown and completely burned, you'll probably want to know how it happened. In fact, a burnt lawn can be caused by many different things. Before you help your lawn, you should identify the cause and fix it if possible.
We summarize the most common causes of burnt lawns:
Dryness:
Dryness and lack of water are particularly dangerous for your lawn in summer. If it hardly rains and the sun shines on your lawn all day, the water in the soil evaporates and your lawn dies of thirst. But dry soil can also damage your lawn in spring and autumn.
Incorrect watering:
A burnt lawn can also be a sign of incorrect watering. This is the case, for example, if you watered your lawn in full sunlight - the wet lawn will then burn in the sun.
Mowing errors:
Mowing the lawn in direct sunlight can also cause your lawn to burn. The tips of the blades of grass will then turn brown. Cutting the lawn too deeply in the summer can also be a cause of a burnt lawn.
Too much fertilizer:
Do you want to strengthen your lawn with fertilizer? You should always make sure to use the correct amount of fertilizer. If you spread too much on your lawn, this over-fertilization can damage your lawn and result in brown patches.
Use of weed killers:
There are also some weed killers that not only kill weeds, but also your lawn. These are so-called total herbicides. Before you apply a weed killer to your lawn, you should make sure that it is not harmful to your lawn.
If you have noticed that your lawn is burnt, you should check whether one of the causes above could be the cause. They are usually easy to fix - so remember these points and try to avoid them as part of your lawn care.
Can burnt grass become beautiful again?
Whether burnt grass can be restored to its former glory depends on the severity of the burns. The decisive factor is whether the roots have died or not.
If the damage is so great that the roots have dried out, then you can hardly help your lawn. However, it is a different story if the roots are not damaged. Then you have the opportunity to strengthen it again with balanced lawn care.
The brown discoloration of the grass blades is not damage to the blades, but a protective mechanism. If your lawn lacks water, it slows down its metabolism. With intensive care, your lawn can normalize its metabolism and return to its usual green color in a few weeks.
How can I check if the roots of my lawn are still intact?
Are you wondering whether your lawn can still be saved? Then you should first check the condition of the roots. To do this, you can cut off a small corner of your lawn about 10 cm deep. Then take a look at the roots: if they are intact, then you can save your lawn with the right care. If, on the other hand, they are dry, then the only thing that will help is sowing new grass seeds.
Save burnt lawn: water the lawn properly
If the roots of your lawn are intact, the first thing you should do is water your lawn properly. It is extremely important to replenish the soil's water reserves and prepare your lawn for the summer sun.
It is best to choose a shady day for watering or wait until the sun has set in the evening. Your lawn should then be watered with around 15 to 20 litres of water per square metre. You can use a lawn sprinkler for this - small lawns can of course also be watered manually.
Basically, you should remember the following rule of thumb: It is best to water your lawn intensively on one or two days a week. Watering a little every day is not a good idea, as this will get your lawn used to the daily water supply.
Would you like to learn more about proper irrigation? In our blog post you will find out everything you need to know about irrigation:
Reseed dead areas in the lawn
If you inspect your lawn, you may notice that its roots have died. If this is the case, you will need to sow new grass. It is also possible to reseed only bare patches.
However, if you need to sow new grass on larger areas, you should first scarify your lawn: This will remove dead blades of grass and also eliminate weeds.
Then you sow new seeds evenly so that new grass grows back in just a few weeks. Make sure to water the young grass thoroughly: it must not dry out during the growth phase, otherwise it will die.
You can easily order the right seeds for reseeding from RasenExpert. Our mixtures contain high-quality lawn grasses that form a dense turf and are particularly resistant to drying out:
Optimize lawn care: How to avoid brown spots
With the right care, your lawn has turned green again? That's good news. However, you should also take some measures to avoid brown patches in the future.
For example, adjust your mowing habits: never cut your lawn when it is exposed to sunlight. In the summer, make sure to let it grow a few centimeters longer. This will prevent it from drying out and can also ensure that your lawn burns less quickly.
In addition to proper watering and careful mowing, regular fertilization is also recommended. Fertilizer strengthens your lawn and makes it more resilient. This means it can cope better with drought and suffers less damage.
Before fertilizing, check whether you are using the correct amount and whether the fertilizer is suitable for the season. We have an autumn fertilizer for your fertilization, among other things, which will prepare your lawn for winter. Alternatively, you can also opt for a practical long-term fertilizer:
Frequently Asked Questions About Burnt Lawns
With the right care, burnt grass only needs a few weeks to recover. The best way to do this is to water it thoroughly one or two days a week. This should help it recover quickly and return to its usual green color.
No, you should not mow a burnt lawn. This will put additional stress on the lawn and risk further damage. In addition, weakened blades of grass may be ripped out of the ground during mowing. Wait a few weeks before mowing until your lawn has recovered.
Your lawn will burn if you fertilize it too much, as too many fertilizer salts will end up in the soil. Strictly speaking, the lawn will not burn, but rather it will dry out. This is because the roots are over-fertilized and do not receive enough water. Therefore, always stick exactly to the dosage recommendation.
Conclusion: With the right care, your lawn will be green again
A burnt lawn is very annoying: With the right care, however, you can succeed in getting your burnt lawn green again. Act quickly and eliminate the causes of the brown lawn. Then you will be able to get the lawn to recover within a few weeks. You can rely on the high-quality products from RasenExpert.